Ali McGregor: Late-Nite Variety-Nite Night

Strutting the stage in a top hat, sexy as sin and letting fly a powerhouse voice that ranges from crystal shattering operatics to bluesy purr, Ali McGregor almost makes you believe you've slipped back in time to the Famous Spiegeltent's glory days in some vaguely sepia tinted, vaudevillian past.  Although you may wonder what The Prodigy's “Slap my Bitch Up” is doing there.   Ably supported by her assistant, “Flaxen McGinty” (the incomparable Virginia Gay, dripping sex and talent in equally abundant measure), and accompanist Simon Ross, McGregor is ringleader to a different circus each night, showcasing the best of the festival.  Tonight's offering featured excellent stand-up from Michael Workman, Tom Allen, and the ever-brilliant Tripod, now celebrating sixteen years at the festival and their new status as “dilfs”.  “McGinty” gets her time in the spotlight also, unleashing Gay's prodigious grasp of the fine art of innuendo on a defenceless piece of furniture.